Nickelodeon Buys Rights to 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', Begins Planning New Film

Us consumers of pop culture all know that there are secrets and there is ooze and that there are also secrets in the ooze that bring about man-sized, crime-fighting, Foot-stomping, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but that little fact isn't exclusive to us fans born before 1993. Sure there was TMNT, the recent attempt by Warner Brothers to reboot the franchise for the big screen by swapping out bulky men-in-suits for streamlined CGI, but it wasn't the renaissance resurgence many were hoping for. Enter Nickelodeon, the kid-friendly network, who have just purchased intellectual ownership rights to the sewer-loving franchise from combo owners The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment.

The deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter, went down for some $60 million, and includes plans for a new computer animated TV series as well as a new feature film. The latter will be the result of a team-up between Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures, both owned by Viacom, with an expected release date sometime during 2012 (assuming the world hasn't fallen into the oceans by then). From the THR article:

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences," said Cyma Zarghami, president, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids."

The announcement doesn't mention whether or not the intention for the film is to continue with the all-CGI trend or go the traditional man-in-suit route, but if Where the Wild Things Are maintains its popularity at the box office, there might be proper fiscal motivation for Paramount to mix the two when bringing the heroes in a half shell to yet another generation.